Attendance

Parent Guide to Attendance – Leaflet – Elm Academy

NHS advice to parents

For our children to achieve the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital that they attend school every day and on time. We are aware that good attendance is the key to successful education. Any absence will affect your child’s education and could become a barrier to their learning as well as the routines of their class and that of their peers. Ensuring your child’s attendance at school is your legal responsibility and permitting absence from school without a good reason creates an offence in law which could lead to prosecution in the form of a Penalty Notice or a criminal record.

Our Inclusion Lead, Mr Read, and Vice Principal, Miss Beer, work with children and their families to ensure that their school attendance is at least 96%. If pupils are not in school they cannot learn; persistent and unexplained absence will result in a direct communication with home.

Getting to school on time

Doors open between 8.40am and 8:45am and all children are expected to arrive during this time. Children who arrive after this time and before 9:15am are recorded as late and need to enter school via the late door.  Any lateness after 9.15am is marked as late after registration is closed which is an unauthorised absence.

Absence due to illness

All parents must notify the school of their child’s absence before 9am by calling 01202 574212 or emailing absence@elm-academy.org.uk leaving your child’s name, their class, along with the reason for absence.

If school is not notified then a text or telephone call will be made to parents to determine a reason for the absence. If there is no reply then a ‘safe and well visit’ could be carried out at the family address.

It is not usually necessary for a child to be absent from school for more than a couple of days due to illness. If your child has been prescribed a course of antibiotics or medication by the doctor, but they are well enough to be at school, please come to the school office to complete a consent slip and the first aider will be able to administer the medication for you.

Absence due to medical appointments

Parents should make medical and dental appointments for their children before or after school or during the school holidays, whenever possible. If this is not possible, then authorisation will be given where evidence of the appointment is received at the school office, e.g. appointment card. Children are expected to attend school prior to the appointment and return to school following the appointment whenever possible. An authorised medical absence can only be for a maximum of half a day. If you keep your child away for a whole day, this will be unauthorised unless evidence of a longer appointment is received.

Holidays

Absences due to term-time holidays are disruptive to learning and lead to missed opportunities in the classroom. Children should not be taken out of school during term time unless it is unavoidable.

Schools are required to consider requests for leave of absence in term time. A family holiday is not an acceptable reason for a child to miss school. However, we recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances that require a term-time leave of absence. In such rare cases, please submit a formal request to the Principal in writing, using the application form below well in advance with any supporting evidence.

Application for Absence During Term Time

 The Principal will carefully consider each request and, if deemed appropriate and in the best interest of the child, may grant permission for the term-time absence or part of it. We emphasise that such instances will only be considered on a discretionary basis, and the decision will be made with the pupil’s educational welfare as the utmost priority. We appreciate your co-operation and understanding regarding our approach to term-time holidays.

If a student is absent for 5 days or more then the school is expected to refer the matter for the consideration of a Penalty Notice being issued by the Local Authority.

Penalty Notices

To provide consistency, the Government have introduced a new national framework for schools and Local Authorities. All schools are now required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 sessions (5 school days) for unauthorised reasons.

Fines are issued by the Local Authority and with effect from August 2024, the fine for school absences for each parent will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. 

In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.

Fines per parent will be capped at two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

Absence due to illness or injury in school

In the event of accident, injury or illness while the child is at school, the appropriate procedures will be followed and the parent informed. Parents may be requested to collect the child from school in these circumstances. In the event of a serious accident or injury sustained by the child outside of school time, to ensure their safety, we may require that the parent keep the child at home for a reasonable period before returning to school. If appropriate a risk assessment will be completed.

The role of the Local Authority

Attendance at school is a legal requirement and it is a parent’s duty to ensure regular attendance at school for their child. At Elm Academy, we work hard to support parents but we have a duty to report matters of poor school attendance to the Local Authority (School Attendance Worker, 5 to 19 services) at regular intervals. The School Attendance Worker allocated to Elm Academy works closely with us to monitor and promote regular attendance of compulsory school aged children and will:

• Carry out regular attendance audits in school
• Meet with pupils and parents in school and at home to discuss any attendance concerns
• Work closely with families to understand how best to support you
• Work with other agencies and services to offer you and your family a package of support which meets your needs
• Implement a range of legal interventions when necessary